Method of and apparatus for shaping glass



Nov. 10, 1936. c. A. BROWN E-r Al.

METHOD oF AND APPARATUS FOR sHA1=IN 3`GLASs 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Sept. 29, 1935 .ZN-VEN TDF. EARL A..ER a WN,

ELARE'NDEEH'AHN 'THEIR A1-rams :.f.

Ram/p15 Nov. 10, 1936. c. A. BROWN Er Al. 2,060,658

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR `SHPING GLASS h Original Filed Sept. 29, 1933 3 Shee`ts-Sheet 2 0 ,0, .Z'NVENTDR:

1 0 EAA-z ALB A D WN, l 1 DLAAENDEEHIHN 43 /f/y/ EY THEIA .1-'Tama 1'.

Nov. `l0, 1936. C, A BROWN E1- AL 2,060,658

METHOD oF AND APPARATUS Fon .SHAPING GLASS original Filed Sepp 29, 19:55 :5 sheets-sheet 5 DAB.: I A'.Ejlamam, C71: .a: ABNL'EEHAEN,

Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR SHAPING GLASS Application September 29, 1933, Serial No. 691,489 Renewed April 23, i936 11 Claims.

Our invention relates to methods and apparatus for re-shaping glass and more particularly to methods and machines for making lamp bulbs and the like. Still more particularly our invention relates to the manufacture of bulbs comprising a solid spherical lens-end portion and a tubular portion extending therefrom. Incandescent lamps made from this type of bulb have the tubular portion closed oif by another body of glass sealed thereto and have the filament located within said tubular portion. One object of our invention is to provide a method of manufacture which is simple, eflicient and suitable for machine use. Another object of our invention is to provide a method of manufacture which shapes both the inside and the outside of the bulb as desired and produces a product free from bubbles and other defects. Still another object of our invention is to provide a machine for practicing this method of manufacture and still another object is to provide a completely automatic machine therefor. Other features and advantages of our invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows and from the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Fig. l isla side view partially in section of the machine of our invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section therethrough; Fig. 3 shows various steps of operation; Fig. 4 is a section through a machine head; Fig. 5 is a side view of a portion of the tube feeding mechanism; Fig. 6 is a horizontal section through the turret indexing mechanism; Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the drive mechanism in the housing at the left end of the machine; and Fig. 8 is a horizontal section through a portion ofthe forming mechanism.

Briefly, our method of manufacture as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 consists in a series of operations performed at four positions about a horizontally mounted turret. The turret carries a series of ten heads at each of the four positions, apart, and as intermittently indexed carries a glasstube which is fed into the heads at one position through several operations which reshape it into the bulb desired. Each head of the series at one position about the turret passes through a like operation. The order of operation as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is as follows: first at position A, one end of a length of glass tubing I0 is fed into the head Il; second at position B, fires are directed against the protruding end of said tubing until it is partially melted down; third, at position C, while being heated by another set of fires the molten end thereof to pull them apart.

of the tube is upset by having a at surface pressed thereagainst; fourth, also at position C, a forming roll is pressed against the side of the molten mass forming it into a sphere; and fth, at position D, the newly formed bulb is 5 partially cooled while suspended sphere down and is allowed to drop from the head before it is again indexed into position A. The machine is driven from external sources of power through a belt and chains.

More specifically, the machine comprises a horizontally mounted turret l2 composed of four rectangular blocks i3 mounted at 90 intervals between angular support members M and in each of which a series of ten heads il is mounted. 'Ihe right end of the turret is attached to the flanged portion i5 of spindle i6 which turns in ball bearing Il 4in bearing retainer it of housing I9. The left end of the turret is attached to collar 2@ on the shank por- 20 tion 2l of Geneva gear 22 which turns on ball bearing 23 in housing 24. The housings at either end of the machine are supported on legs 25 and 26. Each of the turret heads H comprises, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, a hollow spindle 21 hav- 25 ing jaws 28 cut from the outer end thereof, a pin 29 frictionally held in the core thereof and a cap 3i? pinned to the inner end. The whole is mounted in sleeve 3i in ball bearings 32 and 33 in block E3 and is retained therein by collar 34 30 which engages groove 35 in cap 36. During the operation of the machine the turret heads are always in rotation as sleeves 3l are keyed to gears 3l which mesh with the adjacent gears of the series of heads. Sleeves 3l of the extreme right head of each series are provided withbevel gears 3d by which that series is driven from bevel gear 39 of shaft 40 which in turn is driven from some external source through a chain on sprocket iii. 40

The cycle of operation begins at position A and consists in feeding a short-length of glass tubing end first into each of one series of heads. As the operation begins the jaws 28 are separated to allow insertion of an end of the tube therebetween by cam 42 which engages cap` 30 and pushes jaws 28 outward from cap 36 allowing the springiness The glass tubes Ill are arranged parallel ifi the hopper shown in Figs. 2 and 5 which comprises opposite sides v43 and 44 y50 mounted on plates 45 at each end of the machine and the bottom of blocks 46 and slides 41 therebetween. Plates 45 are mounted on brackets 48 on each of the end housings. The bottom blocks 46 of the hopper taper off in either direction causing the tubes to roll down onto the edges of slides 41 which are then in the lower position and are raised to the position shown. Slides 41 are attached to bar 49 which is moved vertically by cam segments 50 at each end, of which only one is shown, through rollers 5| on arms 52. The ends of bar 49 are guided by grooves in brackets 53. The cam segments are attached to tube 54 and are rotated by roller 55 on the left segment which engages cam 56. position the tubethereon is fed by a rod 51 entering through a hole in hopper side 43 which pushes the tube end rst through a hole in hopper side 44 along guide plate 58 and partially into the head. This movement is produced by bar 59 which engages said rods through springs 60 and collars 6| and is mounted at each end on slides 62 in brackets 48. Each of the slides 62 isoperated from a lever 63 mounted slidably on a smaller section of tube 54 which engages a track (not shown) in cam 64 through roller 65. The slides are reciprocated in ways-in brackets 48 in which they are held by plates 66. During the greater portion of the feeding movement of glass tube I0 guide plate 58 is held up in the position shown by rollers 61 on slides 62 but at other intervals said plate hangs free from pins 68 in brackets 69 of hopper side 44. This operation causes the removal of whatever broken glass which collects due to improper feed, faulty tubing, etc. With a Vportion of the tubes located within the turret head thejaws are closed by rotation of cam 42. The low part of the cam comes below cap 30 which permits spring 10 (Fig. 4) to move spindle 21 inward causing it to strike cap 36 and to engage the tube as shown.

The turret is now rotated, indexing the heads from position A to position B and placing the tubes I0 in position to be worked.` The turret is rotated by Geneva. gear 22 which, as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7, is engaged by roller 1| on pin 12 of Geneva pinion 13. 'I'he pinion turns on ball bearings 14 on shaft 15 and during the period of operation is engaged by pin 16 of wheel 11 which is then inserted in hole 18 of thepinion. This mechanism is introduced to reducethe time of motion during the index and disengages during the rest period. When engaged the position of wheel 11 which is keyed to shaft 15 is farther to the right than shown and when disengaged said wheel is moved to the left by arm drawing pin 16 out' of engagement. Arm 80 engages the ways of cam 8| on shaft 82 through roller 83 and has U-shaped ends which ride on shaft 82 and in groove 84 of wheel 11. Shaft 15 is driven from an external source through a chain on sprocket 85 and shaft 82 is driven at reduced speed from shaft 15 through gears 86 and 81. Spring 88 permits pin 16 to move back in wheel 11 when it is against said wheel and not located over the hole 18. Spring 89 forces ball 90 into the hollow of pin 12 holding pinion 13 in the position shown during the rest period. Shaft 15 is continually in motion and drives indirectly all portions of the machine operating with relation to the turret index action. One such apparatus is the tube feeding mechanism previously described, which is driven from cams 56 and 64. on the exterior end of shaft 82 and another is the jaw opening cam 42 which is driven fromcam ways 9| in gear 81 on shaft 82. A roller on lever 92 engages ways 9| and turns said lever about pin 93 in the housing operating cam 42 through link 94 and lever 95 on the extension 96 thereof. The remaining mechanism driven from shaft 'I5 operates Off With slides 41 in the raised cams on shaft 91 which is driven thereby through gear 86, gear 98 on stud 99 protruding from the housing and gear |00 attached to shaft 91.

At position B res play directly down on the endof the tubes causing them to partially melt down as shown in Fig. 3. On coming into position B the tube end comes under res from burners |0l which are mounted on manifold |02 through which a mixture of air and gas is carried thereto. The manifold is supported on brackets |03 and |04 on housings 24 and i9 respectively and has the gas and air lines (not shown) connected thereto through valves for controlling the mixture. As the tube |0 is melted down the air in the center opening thereof vwhich may have been trapped as the end closes over escapes by pin 29. From position B the heads are indexed to position C.

At position C the partially melted tube end comes in operative relation to the fires of burners |05 and is then upset and formed by spindle |06 as shown at C and C of Fig. 3. The burners |05 are mounted on the end of arms |01 extending from manifold |08 and receive a properly proportioned mixture of gas and air from passage |09 therein through a passage not shown in arms |01. Screws I0 control the volume of the gas mixture admitted to the burner by closing off passages connecting passage |09 and the passage in arms |01. Flexible gas and air connections to the manifold are not shown. In upsetting the tube l0, the spindle |06 moves toward the turret during which time the tube end strikes flange and is upset by it. 'Ihe spindle |06 (Fig. 8) is mounted in sleeve |2 which rides in ball bearings H3 and 4 in block ||5 and is rotated continually by gear ||6 on said sleeve. The spindle rotates in the opposite direction to the turret head and preferably about the same speed. The spindle can be adjusted in or out by turning shank ||1 in sleeve ||2 and is locked in place by nut I8. Gear ||6 of each of the ten spindles meshes with corresponding gears of adiacent spindles and the whole are operated by a dummy spindle I9 which turns on ball bearings |20 and |2| and engages gear ||6 through gear |22 thereon. Spindle I9 is driven by shaft |23 through bevel gears |24 and |25 which in turn is rotated through pulley |25 from some external source. As the upsetting occurs the assembly comprising b1ock'||5, slide |26, plate |21 and the slides |28 at either end thereof is moved inward. 'I'he slides move in ways in brackets |29 extending from the end housings of the machine in which they are held by plates |30 and are caused to move by gears |3| on either end of shaft |32 which mesh with teeth cut from said slides. Cam |33 on shaft 91 operates' this assembly through slide |34 which engages ways therein through roller |35 and has teeth cut in the upper edge thereof which mesh with gear |3| at the left end of the device. Screw |36 allows adjustment of the forward part of said slide.

The second operation of spindle |06 is to move to the left bringing the forming roll |31 against the plastic glass mass as shown at C' of Fig. 3..

The object of this operation is to form the mass intov a sphere. The motion occurs as slide |26 on which block ||5 is mounted is slid on plate |21 by spring |38 due to the lesser thickness of cam |39 coming below roller |40. The spring extends between a post in slide |26 and one in plate |21 and the roller |40 is attached to bracket |4| attached to plate |21. Should adjustment of the position of the slide be required hub |42 by which cam |39 is attached to shaft 91 may be moved thereon by turning screw |43. On completion of the forming the spindle returns to a position clear of the heads whereupon the turret is indexed, bringing the heads into position D.

At position D the tubes or bulbs, as they may now be called, are allowed to cool while still held in the turret heads for most of the period after which they are released and drop onto belt |44 which carries them away. The release occurs as the thicker portion of the cam 42 is moved out from under the heads at position A and under the heads at D.

Both the turret and the forming spindle supporting means are water cooled. The former, the turret, has water passing through pipe |44' (Fig. 1) into the interior of collar |45 from which it passes through an opening into passage |46 of spindle I6. Ring |41 attached to the flange I5 of said spindle'is drilled to permit the water to circulate to passage |48 and hence along passage |49 (Fig. 2) at one side of block I3 to the end and back the other side of said block through y passage |50. The water returns through a separate but similar route by passage |5| to passage |52 and empties into the space between plates |53 and |54 hence to housing I9 and out pipe |55. The forming spindle supporting block ||5 is cooled by water entering passage |56 therein through a pipe not shown in which it circulates from the right end to the left, then down into passage |51 in the lower half and back out a passage in slide |26 not shown.

What we claim as new and des-ire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, isz- 1. The method of manufacturing lens-end bulbs for electric lamps characterized by the heating of the end of a tubular glass body having thin walls to render it workable, the upsetting of said end into a compact solid mass, and the shaping of said mass into a solid lens portion of denite size and shape by contacting itwith the periphery of a roll while said mass is being rotated so as to present all parts thereof to said roll.

2. The method of manufacturing lens-end bulbs for electric lamps characterized by the heating of the end of a glass body having thin walls to render it workable, the upsetting of said end into a compact'solid mass while located axially in a substantially horizontal position, and the shaping of said mass into a solid lens portion of definite size and shape by contacting it with the periphery of a roll located to one side thereof while both the glass mass and roll are being rotated so the surface of each at the point of contact is moving at substantiallythe same speed and in the same direction.

3. The method of manufacturing a plurality of lens-end bulbs for electric lamps simultaneously characterized in each instance by the heating of one end of a glass body having thin walls to render it workable, the upsetting of said end into a compact mass, and the shaping of said mass into a solid lens portion of definite size and shape by contact with the periphery of a roll While said mass is being rotated so as to present all parts thereof to said roll.

4. The method of manufacturing a plurality of lens-end bulbs for electric lamps simultaneously characterized in each instance by the heating of one end of a glass body having thin walls to render it workable, the upsetting of said end into a compact mass, and the shaping of said 'mass into a solid lens portion of definite size and shape by contact with the peripheryof a rolll located to one side thereof while both the glass mass and roll are being rotated so the surface of each at the point of contact is moving at sub tently to interchange the positions of said holding means, a. burner positioned above said turret and directed onto an end of said body protruding from the holding means, another burner located at a subsequent position about said turret and movable with respect thereto, a body having a substantially plane surface mounted movably at said position, a roll also mounted movably at this position and means for rotating the holding means and glass body, for moving the surface of said body against the end of the body to upset it into a compact solid mass, for moving said roller against said glass body to shape it into a solid lens portion of definite size and shape and for keeping the. burners directed thereagainst.

6. A machine for reshaping one end of vitreous tubing comprising a turret mounted on a change the positions of said heads, a hopper at one position thereabout, means for feeding tubing from said hopper to said heads, at another position about said turret a burner directed onto an end of the tube therein to render it workable, at a subsequent position another burner movably mounted with respect to said tubing, a spindle having an outwardly extending ange thereon and a roll mounted on the axis thereof, means for moving said spindle longitudinally to carry said flange against the end of said tubing to upset it, means for moving said spindle transversely to carry the periphery of said roll against the side of the upset portion of said tube to shape it and means for keeping said fires directed against said tube during said operation.

7. In a machine for reshaping an end of vitreous tubing, ahead for holding one end of said tubing comprising a plurality of jaws, a pin disposed withln said jaws, means for heating and shaping the exterior portion of the protruding end of said tubing and for causing that portion to be melted down onto the head of said pin so as to shape the crown of the tubularportion.

8. The method of manufacturing lens-end bulbs for electric lamps characterized by the heating of the upper end of a vertically disposed thin-walled tubular glass body to render it Workable, the transferring of said glass body to an axially horizontal position, the upsetting of said end into a compact solid mass, and the shaping of said mass into a lens portion of definite size and shape by contacting it with the periphery of a roll while said mass is being rotated so as to` present all parts thereof to said roll.

9. A machine for manufacturing lens-end bulbs for electric lamps from glass tubing comprising a turret rotatably mounted on ,a horizontal axis, a plurality of holders for lengths of said glass tubing mounted on said turret, means for causing the rotation of said holders about their axes, means for indexing said turret` intermittently, a hopper at the horizontal position of a holder, means for feeding tubing from .said hopper to a holder at said horizontal position, a burner at the upper vertical position of a holder directed onto the upper end of the tube therein to render it workable, a body having a substantially plane surface mounted movably at the horizontal position of a holder opposite said hopper, a roll also mounted movably at this position, means for moving the surface of said body against the end of the tube to upset it and for moving said roll against said end of said tube to shape it, and means for automatically opening said holders at the lower Vertical position to discharge the shaped glass tubes.

10. A machine for manufacturing lens-end bulbs for electric lamps from glass tubing comprising a turret rotatably mounted on a horizontal axis, a plurality oi longitudinal rows of holders for lengths of said glass tubing mounted on said turret, means for causing the rotation of said holders about their axes, means for indexing said turret intermittently, a hopper at the horizontal position of a row of said holders, means for feeding tubing from said hopper to a row of said holders at said horizontal position, a plurality of burners at the upper vertical position of a row oi said holders directed onto the upper end of the tubes therein to render them workable, a horizontal row of bodies each having a substantially plane surface mounted movably at the horizontal position of a row of said holders opposite said hopper, a plurality of rolls also mounted movably at this position, means for moving the surface of each of said bodies against the ends of the tubes to upset them and for moving said rolls against said ends of said tubes to shape them, and means for automatically opening said holders at the lower vertical position to discharge the shaped glass tubes.

11. In a device of the class described for manufacturing lens-end bulbs for electric lamps, a holder for a length of glass tubing, means for rotating said holder and tubing, a burner directed against the end of said tubing to render it workable, a spindle having an outwardly extending flange thereon and a roll mounted on the axis thereof, means for moving said spindle longitudinally to carry said ange against the end of said tubing to upset it, and means for moving said spindle transversely to carry the mrlpherv or' said roll against the side of the upset portion of said tube to shape it. Y

CARL A. BROWN. CLARENCE E. HAHN. 

